“Tony has been a tremendous asset to the entire Papa John’s system,” said Schnatter. “His leadership, vision and drive have helped the company achieve tremendous results over the past 18 months, and have helped position the company for long-term success.”

Thompson is responsible for leading the company’s global operations and will continue to lead the operations of PJ Food Service, Inc., Papa John’s food manufacturing and distribution subsidiary; Quality Control Center Operations; Strategic Supply Chain Management; and Research & Development/Quality Assurance functions.

The company also announced Lance Tucker, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, will assume the additional role of Chief Administrative Officer, and the promotion of Tim O’Hern to Chief Development Officer. Tucker will continue to report to Schnatter, and O’Hern will report to Thompson. Tucker, who first joined Papa John’s in 1994, will now oversee the legal and corporate communications functions in addition to his finance and accounting responsibilities. O’Hern, who first joined Papa John’s in 1996, will continue to lead Papa John’s global development efforts.

“Lance and Tim have played integral roles in the growth and success of Papa John’s for nearly two decades,” said Schnatter. “I am confident in their abilities to keep moving the company forward as we continue to focus on accelerated unit growth and strong unit economics.”

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third largest pizza company. For 11 of the past 13 years, consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John’s also earned the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Pizza Brand of the Year. Papa John’s is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl XLVII. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release and other company communications constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Generally, the use of words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “will,” “forecast,” “plan,” “project,” or similar words identify forward-looking statements that we intend to be included within the safe harbor protections provided by the federal securities laws. Such statements may relate to projections concerning revenue, earnings, margins, unit growth and other financial and operational measures. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.